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The image is replaced with the face of Campania, his eyes fiery red and his fangs fully descended.I’m coming for you, Willow.
I swallow down a wealth of emotion that has been bottled up since our fight.A large vampire with red eyes in a large estate overlooking the sea is the boss. But this fight will be over before you arrive.
And it will, because no one, not a scary vampire, or all the shifters in the world are going to stand in the way of me getting my sisters out of here, or preventing this from happening in the future, and the only way to do that is to not leave one living soul behind.
Chapter23
Campania
The minutethe stupid words about holding my enemies close in relationship to Willow came out of my mouth, I regretted them. If I didn’t know how much she had come to mean to me after taking her to my home, letting her sleep in my bed and waking up wanting to do it all over again, I did the minute she was out of my sight. Even bumping into old partners brought my thoughts back to Willow and craving another night with her spent in my arms.
At least Embry has been outspoken, honest, and forthright about her initial dislike of any of the masters mating with a witch, but Lucas didn’t give that same opinion until now. Maybe she hasn’t quite accepted them the way she wants us to believe. Maybe her feelings about our mating outside of the vampires has rubbed off on him a little too.
Regardless the reason, if I hadn’t let the conversation get under my skin and create doubts where none should be, or given Silver and Terrence a much different answer than the one I gave, Willow would still be mine. I lost the one female I’ve ever loved before the relationship even had a chance to grow.
None of it can be undone, and she has every right not to trust me. When I finally connect, none of that matters in the moment because the images swirling around in her mind and now mine causes my chest to pound with unprecedented speed.
I transport without waiting for the others, knowing they’ll follow my or Lucianna’s lead. The important thing is to get to her before any of the shifters do because the thought of losing her, just as I’ve realized how essential she is to my life, and to my future, is too much to bear.
I reach the villa overlooking the sea as the waves from the Tyrannian Sea crash against the shore and the light of the moon begins its descent. I make my way to the front of the house using the large shrubs and hanging trees to provide cover as I go. There’s no guessing whether she’s here or not because I can feel her very essence as if she were standing right next to me.
The fuckers who have her are going to wish they had never taken Willow. Descallia and the rest of the crew arrive just before I transport inside. He looks at me and then at the house. “Lots of square footage to cover.” He barks out some orders to the rest of the crew which I hardly hear, so intent am I on trying to get the connection with Willow back.
I swallow hard and transport inside. Being unable to communicate with Willow, to know that she is okay is un-fucking-acceptable. A large ass vampire stands with his face to the window looking out over the yard. “You should mind your own business, vampire. The purebloods have enough problems without getting into the middle of the shifters and witches.” He doesn’t turn around, but he doesn’t have to. An ex-warrior, one who ran when they thought they would be caught, and one who will pay for his deceit and betrayal at the hands of our leader for all to see.
“Turn around, traitor!”
Larthew turns slowly, and his fangs descend as his eyes flare a deep red. “What did you say to me?” He takes a couple steps, and I don’t move. I’ll let him take even a few more before I drop him where he stands. The vampire doesn’t stop, and in one smooth motion the weapon is in my hands, and I’m in my stance ready to slay this fucking traitor; be damned the consequences of Descallia, who I’m certain wants the privilege himself.
A growl that can only be the overmaster tells me that I won’t be the one to end this bastard, because he is already here. He’ll die a fateful death at the hands of the overmaster he betrayed after years of working side by side with a leader who is just and fair. “Find Willow and the witches; I’ll take care of this,” he growls.
I fly through the rooms with Lucianna and Silver at my heels, searching room after room only to find a mattress, pillows, and blanket and many frozen and dead shifters, but only the scent of my enchantress who’s turned into a hot-blooded warrior is left lingering in the air.
My jaw locks tight as I fly through the house and out the door, picking up the trail of Willow the minute the air begins to shift. A high-pitched scream drifts on the wind. I beeline through the air toward the sound and follow it down to the beach where a large wolfpack holds her hostage by the rocks of the sea, already feasting from her bloody flesh.
I don’t stop to give the shifters a chance to react, diving straight toward them as fast as I can go with Lucianna and Silver right behind. My sword is wielded and takes off one of their heads before I’ve even land. The one bent over Willow’s lifeless body looks up in fear, his heart beating fast. Soon it won’t be beating at all. He’s the next to go, slicing him away from my love as I ready my blade for another.
Silver yells out a warning. “Her wand! He has her wand and has taken her witch power!” I swing my sword and transport behind the magical shifter before he can use her wand to cast a spell.
I intentionally let him hear the draw of my sword and then disappear again before he has a chance to use any of the magical capabilities that he’s planned for me. This time when I land, it’s face to face, but too quick for him to do anything about before I run him through, leaving him to slump in a spreading pool of his blood.
Lucianna and Silver deal with the rest as I sink next to Willow, holding her tightly in my arms; her life as she knows it is over, but her life with me in eternity has only just begun. Unconscious in body but connected in mind, I try to comfort her as my fangs sink deep into the creaminess of her throat, drinking her essence and leaving her void so that she can be replenished with the purest blood of all.
It takes long moments to nourish her from the slit in my wrist, feeding her until her body is sustained enough to recover and begin the painstaking transition. I lift her in my arms, watching as farther up the beach Lucianna and Silver have bested the shifters and freed the remaining witches.
I look down at my fearless warrior who battled the shifters to save her sisters and kill the vampires foe. “You fought well, enchantress. Now you will fight for the right to become one of us—my mate and partner for all time.” I have no doubt Willow will get through the transition, but the thought of her in discomfort and fever as she fights through is not one anyone wants to endure.
Romana and Raven join Lucianna and Silver, and along with the witches they drag the shifters they’ve left alive. She races to our side with tears flowing down her face as I gently pick Willow up and hold her torn body in my hands. “Willow will heal. She’ll go through a rough couple of days, but then she’ll be healed, okay?”
Raven swallows. “A vampire, immortal and alive. Thank you for saving her.” She gestures all around. “We wouldn’t have found any of them if it weren’t for her.” She picks up the wand that’s been tossed to the sand. “This is Willow’s. You didn’t take it from her, did you?”
I shake my head. “No, my little enchantress must have wanted them to think that so she could surprise them with her tricks.”
She looks from me to Willow and pushes a bloody strand of hair from her face. I try to reassure her in the best way that I know how. “She’s going to come through this. I’m taking her back to my estate. I’ll stay with her as she goes through the transition. You’re welcome to visit; bring Romano if you’re scared to be at my estate without him.”
Her eyes moisten as she tries to hold back anymore tears. “Thank you, Master Campania. I’m not scared of you anymore. I’ll come and help look after her if you don’t mind.”
I look down at the little witch. “I don’t mind at all. We’re going to need to make them tell us where the rogues are. Can you help the others so that I can get Willow back to my estate and comfortable more quickly?”
